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PC and Hib

Monday, February 20, 2012

Friday morning, Tony took Ezra in to get some shots. I'm not sure where I fall in the vaccination spectrum, but I have several friends who do them no questions asked per the CDC guidelines and others who have sworn each and every one off from birth. Conspiracies are rampant, studies debunked on all sides and there is way too much money involved for any one to know the truth.

What I do know though is:

- My Mom has a 15 year old girl who has been disabled since 12 months, when she became a statistic of the rare occasions where vaccinations can cause more harm than good. Her case is not an implied reaction, but was carried through the court system and she now has a fund set up by the vaccination manufacturer. Her condition was directly caused by the vaccinations she received at 12 months.

- Vaccinations, as a whole, have saved 100,000's, in not millions, of lives.

- I am not a doctor. I am however, the best advocate of my child.

As the best advocate for my child, I feel strongly that you can't argue against this chart:

That's a huge increase in shots and vaccinations. So, we've decided to follow Dr. Sear's delayed vaccination schedule. Our boys will be fully immunized, just not the on the same hurried scheduled as the CDC recommends. It means an increase in visits, but it also spreads out the impact of the vaccinations.

Friday night, my belief in this choice for our boys was further resolved when Ezra had a reaction to the two shots he received that morning, PC and Hib. Unfortunately we don't go to an extremely delayed schedule friendly office, and once again Tony had to explain what shots they were there for, and that no he didn't want the Dtap-IPV-HepB and PC and Hib. Considering the alarming reaction Ezra had to just the PC and Hib, I can't imagine how he'd have handled the combo vax.

My Mom had been texting me throughout the day that Ezra wasn't very hungry and that all he wanted to do was sleep. Neither of these concerned me, as they're pretty par for the course in the aftermath of shots.

When I went to her house to pick him up though, I was immediately upset. He had at least a fever of 102, did not track me much with his eyes, didn't smile or react when he saw me [highly unusual], was breathing shallow and looked jowly, as his facial muscles were very relaxed and he it seemed like he had to remember to swallow.

I quickly called the after hours care line and they recommended I take him to the ER.

So off I went, leaving Isaac at my Mom's, since Tony was in WI to ref a college game. I had to pull off on the way there because he wasn't responding to anything. He was just blankly staring at the ceiling. I called AJ on the way there, my voice breaking as I shared how scared I was. All I could think of was my Mom's daycare girl, Danielle, and imagining my world without seeing Ezra's smile or enjoying his spunky personality.

It was like he was a shell of himself and I was very worried.

At the ER, he started to get a little better, only confirmed by the two nurses both asking "Is he your first?" I felt like I had to defend my choice to bring him in, that he was my 2nd, and I'd never experienced a reaction like this before.

It took a few hours, with Ezra just sleeping on my chest, but we were finally seen by the pediatrician, who thankfully validated my concerns and said that one of her children had also had a similar reaction. Mind you, Ezra is still sleeping on my chest and hadn't even attempted to nurse, even though he hadn't eaten since 2:00pm and it was now almost 8:00pm.

We left with instructions to watch him and to have a follow up conversation with our Dr. Such a scary time, but so thankful all is well now.

15 comments:

I have your same thoughts. Vaccines have saved so many lives, and I could not imagine what life would be like if Rowan got a terrible disease we could have prevented. We do not do the flu vaccines, but the others we have gotton.

I am in the same exact boat as you, as far as my feelings towards vax in general. We delay, but still do them, just like you guys.

Cohen had a horrible reaction to his 9 month shots as well. It took him a couple days to get out of the "haze" he was in, and just like you, I wondered what it would have been like if we would have done all 4 the doctor wanted us to.

The question from the ER staff asking if Ezra is your first child really bothers me... I hate it that people assume we're "naive" as a first time parent but not allowed to fear for our 2nd child. UGH.

Poor baby. Your post scared me enough to bring tears to my eyes. Im so glad he is alright. We too followed the delayed series of vaccinations. I always have a hard time even giving the flu shot/nasal mist now but it's just one of those things I fear. Hugs.

Just last week at Mom's Group, the amazing speaking shared with us about two of her boys for whom vaccines seemed to be environmental triggers to her family's genetic disposition towards autism (which to me is a totally different thing than saying vaccines CAUSE autism, and makes a lot more sense). It seemed to me that she's dealing with a ton of guilt about not listening to her gut about her boys and vaccines. Anyway, you're right--you're the best advocate for your child, so listen to your gut when it comes to your sweet boys and vaccines!

And this coming from someone who has followed the recommended vaccine schedule with Lizzy...

Oh Leah, I can't imagine the terror you felt in those hours. I'm so sorry you had to endure that.

Gosh, vaccines.....as much as I hate to admit this, I've taken the naive approach and just hope and pray we get through unscathed. And this just seems so odd coming from someone who flips out when her son eats sugar. It's just one of those things where I don't want to be wrong if the medical world happens to be right. I hate that this is a lose-lose situation.

It's so hard to know what the right thing to do is. We follow the recommended schedule, but things like this definitely make me question what I should do. I'm so glad Ezra snapped out of it. I can't imagine seeing my child in that state. And I'm sure there is an incredible amount of hesitation about continuing with his shot schedule. I hope you're able to find some peace of mind.

I too follow Dr. Sears delayed schedule and there also some vaccines that we have chosen not to do for our son. My doctor thankfully is on board with my decision as long as I have done my research. Unlike the Dr. Sears schedule we have chosen to only give one vaccination at a time. Praying that Ezra won't have a reaction like that again.

How scary! I'm a mom of two and also in medical school on my way to becoming a physician. It's very difficult to trust the medical world when you hear so many things from both sides. Sounds like you've made a really great informed decision, which is really important. I have learned a ton about vaccines (it's discussed extensively in medical school) and I choose to vaccinate "on schedule" but I think the best thing is for the parents and doctors to work together, and come up with a plan that makes parents comfortable. It always helps when you have a doctor whose opinion/style you trust. It's definitely scary when something like this happens, though, and I'm glad that everything turned out ok! Thanks for being so open and honest!

Admittedly, I just followed my pediatrician's recommendations for vaccinations for Brayden, and so far, for Kenley. This has been an eye opener to really learn more about what's going on. Thank you for posting this. So glad all is well.